The Sportsman in Cliffsend calls last orders for the final time today

Today (Sunday, April 2) is the last day customers will be able to go through the doors of The sportsman pub at Cliffsend.

The village boozer, run by Teresa Kirk and Ronnie Mark, is calling last orders for good after being put on the market with a guide price of £250,000 plus VAT.

The restaurant shut last month and some utilities, including the phone line, are believed to have been shut down yesterday (April 1)

It is believed the Shepherd Neame pub will be flattened and housing will be built on the site, which includes a car parking area.

Ronnie, Teresa and Trevor

Parts of the Sandwich Road pub’s original building date back to 1750.

The closure will leave the village without a local pub.

Ramsgate mayor Trevor Shonk said the rerouting of traffic to the East Kent Access Road, bypassing Sandwich Road, had sounded the death knell for the business.

Cllr Shonk said: “I have visited this public house for 40 years. It’s been a great meeting place for car clubs, motorcycle clubs, and for food and beers.

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“Teresa and Ronnie are great hosts. This pub goes back to 1750 and was named The Sportsman because young men went there in the 1800s for rifle practice.

“A great disservice has been dealt to Cliffsend by the closure of The Sportsman public house, this was a Thompson and Wooten house.

“It seems all traces of our local history is being erased. It is a sad day for villagers.”